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Come on in, friend! Pull up a chair, grab a cuppa, and let's chat! I'd love to share what God's been putting on my heart about the topics of family, femininity, and faith, and you do the same. If you want to go deeper, join my Facebook group for "This Side of Heaven", and be sure to subscribe to keep up with every new post (no spam, I promise!). I look forward to getting to know you and sharing the journey "this side of Heaven!"

Have you ever found out about something and then wondered, where has this been all my life? Why did I not ever hear about this before? That is what I am feeling this days about a simple product called rose water that has, apparently, been around for, oh, thousands of years.

I admit, the only reason I started learning about this at all is because the hair clip company that I am with, Lilla Rose, added it to their product list this fall. I figured I ought to know a little about it, so I started both researching it and using what they sent me. Here is the quick 411 on rosewater and five ways I am using it in my daily routine.

What it is

Steam distilled rosewater is the result of the distilling process through which the rose essential oil is extracted from rose petals. Bulgaria and Iran are two countries famous for it and the roses it usually comes from.

As such, it can be used on your skin to hydrate and moisturize, smooth lines and wrinkles, soothe sunburn, strengthen skin cells, control excess oil, maintain the skin's pH, and as a toner, reducing redness and tightening capillaries. On your hair, it can help control excess oil, reduce frizz, as a natural conditioner, to revitalize hair growth, and make hair smoother and more shiny. Along with all of this, the aroma can be a natural mood enhancer and help you relax and sleep better. And all of this without any side effects!

Wow!

How I'm using it

With all those benefits, I've been excited to try this out. Here are the main ways I've been using rosewater in my routine for the last several weeks:

In the morning.

I use a cotton ball to apply rosewater all over my face after washing it, which tightens up my capillaries and reduces redness and any inflammation.

After a shower

After I shower and shave, I'm spraying it on my legs to help with any nicks and dryness. I sometimes follow that up with lotion to seal in the benefits of the rosewater.

Throughout the day.

I'm keeping a spray bottle in my purse so I can spritz it on my face as needed throughout the day for natural hydration and aromatherapy. Especially in these colder months, with dry air and going in and out of heated buildings, it is a big help!

On my scalp.

I'm using a cotton ball to massage it into my scalp to control excess oil and stimulate the hair follicles.

On my hair.

After I shower, after I style my hair, and throughout the day, I'm spraying rosewater on my hair to control the frizz and make it smoother. Even my kids have noticed the difference!

I love it!

My conclusion after trying it out for three weeks? I love it! And I'm excited that Lilla Rose has included it in their products. The really great thing is that they have made it part of their November customer special! Until the end of the month, any retail order of $80 or more will get a bottle of Organic Rosewater (retail value of $18) for FREE, along with a Swerve u-pin ($12 value) that is great for updos! And the upcoming Black Friday sale will also give free shipping with any order over $75, so that would automatically be added in as well!

Have you ever tried rosewater? I would love to hear your experience! I was delighted to find it lived up to its reputation, and was also pleased that the Lilla Rose brand had a pleasant but not overpowering aroma. (Even my mom, who is very sensitive to strong scents, liked it!)

It's October again. You wouldn't know it in the South, where we are still having 80-degree days, but fall is truly here, and Christmas countdowns have legitimately begun.

For me, though, October mostly means pink and blue ribbons as parents of babies in Heaven observe Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. If you're on social media of any kind, I'm sure you've seen some of your friends posting about it, or changing their profile picture in honor of it. If you haven't walked this road yourself, you might wonder why it is a big deal, or you might be concerned that your friends are stuck in their grief, and not "moving on".

But nothing can be further from the truth.

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month isn't really about collective grief, even though what draws the baby loss community together is the tragic loss of our children. It is about collective remembrance. It is the one month out of the year when it feels okay - or more okay than normal - to talk about the children who aren't here. This one month, we can remember them out loud, and we can encourage our friends to remember them, too. We can also let others in our club know that it's okay for them to remember their child out loud.

I say "out loud" because, honestly, you never forget. It's been nine and a half years since my daughter Naomi passed into eternity. I remember that day as clearly as if it were yesterday, and not a day goes by that I don't think of her, or her other siblings who flew to Heaven in the years since. That doesn't mean I'm "stuck" or that my days are without joy - not at all! But how can I forget the children I carried, who are part of me, and who have made me the person I am today?

And so I'm thankful for this month, for the chance to share with others the significance of the brief lives of our babies, and for the chance to remember them, out loud.

Because I will never forget.

Are you part of this club? Would you do me the honor of remembering your baby or babies in the comments below so that I can rejoice with you in the meaning their lives had, however brief they were?

Hey, new CC parent! I'm excited for you! You have made a great decision, joining a CC community and jumping in to this program. Maybe you signed up to have a social outlet for your kids, maybe because you are completely on board with the Classical approach, or maybe you don't know anything about it and just didn't want to do the homeschool thing alone. Whatever your situation, and whether your child is four or eleven, or somewhere in between, here are some tips from a sixth-year mom (and fifth-year director) to make the most of this first year.

Get ready the night before.

Lunches planned and maybe even made, backpacks and diaper bags by the door, breakfast dishes on the table, a simple supper planned. Community Day is only once a week; you can do this.

Prepare for Presentations.

Presentations are the one thing NOT to get ready the night before or - horrors - in the car on the way to CC. (Ask me how I know.) Start on Day 2, the day after your community day, and use the next several days to PICK a topic, PLAN what to say, choose a PROP, and PRACTICE. (All right, you seasoned CC parents, quit chortling. You know I'm right.) At the same time, make Presentation your children's responsibility and help them own it. They will learn SO MUCH from weekly presentations, but not as much if it is always a rush job and grabbing a favorite toy on your way out the door.

Expect a learning curve.​

The classical approach is completely different from the approach in most modern schools, whether public or private. You may feel like a fish out of water for the first semester, maybe even all year, and if so, that is okay. You are in the "grammar stage" of understanding CC and next year, you will "get it" so much better, trust me. It's okay to sit back and do lots of watching and listening this year.

Get the Fifth Edition.

Yes, the Foundations Curriculum, Fifth Edition. Don't fall prey to the idea that maybe you can get by without it, and don't settle for making do with the Fourth Edition from last year. Trust me on this - the Fifth Edition is AMAZING! It is more than just the memory work! It also contains TONS of information about the classical approach, how to memorize, suggestions for how to organize your homeschool day, information about the science and fine arts projects, all of the maps...so use it. Mark it up. READ IT. I didn't my first year, until April, and just about kicked myself, because all of that would have been SO helpful. (And I was tutoring, so you better believe I should have read it!)

Get to know your community. ​

Your director, your tutors, your fellow parents. That is YOUR community this year, your tribe. Let them into your life, have play dates and field trips. Stay for lunch. Let them get to know you. You need each other.

Be ready to fully engage.

On Community Day, put your cell phone on vibrate and leave it in your purse except to take pictures. Don't sit in the back and chat with other parents. Come ready to get on the floor with your child's class and learn alongside him or her. Model involvement for the sake of your child and other parents, and for your own sake, too. The tutor is there to model the classical approach for you as much as, or more than, for your kids.

Have realistic expectations.

This is all new for you, but also for your kids. They probably won't do Memory Master this year - and that's okay! You will actually be shocked at how much they learn and remember throughout the year, but it may take them a little while to find their groove, too. And your community? Remember that they are all homeschooling families just like yours, everyone trying to do their best for their children, and every one of them on the sanctification road. Someone may rub you the wrong way, and vice versa, and so we all need to give grace - to ourselves and to each other.

Know what CC will and won't give you. ​

It won't teach your kids math or reading, so make sure you've got that covered, although you sure can ask other parents what they do. (Once you're in Essentials, Language Arts is covered.) It will cover science and social studies, though. (See the next point "Trust the System".)

Trust the system.​

The "CC System" is something like this - if you do the Foundations curriculum, plus math and reading, and then add Essentials when your child is 9, and let your child read read read, that is enough. Academically, you don't need to add anything more than that for them to be prepared for the academic rigors of middle school/junior high at age 12. Are there exceptions? Sure, and you need to be watchful for what YOUR child needs, but as a rule, the system works. It feels totally different than school as most of us know it, and so it can be tempting to add in extra stuff, and as a result we feel really overwhelmed, but you probably don't need it. Honest.

Limit your time on CC Connected, etc.

If you search for "CC Cycle 1", you will find hundreds, maybe thousands, of pins and blogs and worksheets. It's overwhelming. Don't spend too much time looking. Ask friends what one blogger or CC Connected contributor they trust and do that, but don't stress about what your kids could be missing out on by not doing a morning basket or this unit study. Just don't. Keep it "stick in the sand" simple, especially your first year. (But signing up for that CC Connected subscription also gives you access to the amazing collection of videos on RightNow Media, which has great content for adults as well as kids, so that is something to consider!)

Keep your eyes on your own lane. ​

Don't compare your life with the mom you eat lunch with on Community Day. Don't compare your child with the one he or she is in class with. And don't compare your Chapter 1 with someone else's Chapter 5. We are each on our own journey. The CC community is about encouraging and supporting, but not about comparing. You've got this!

Most of all, pray. ​

Pray for your director and tutors. They aren't supermoms or dads who have it all together, just parents like yourself. They are the lead learners, but not untouchable leaders. And they need your prayers. (Trust me, as a director, I am certain of this!) And pray for your community, for the other families on the same, yet different, homeschooling road. And for your kids, and for yourself. Because God will teach you more this year than He teaches them, and will guide you each step of the way if you let Him.

Welcome!

Welcome! My name is Kristi. I am a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, a teacher, a writer, a musician... but most of all a child and worshiper of God discovering that even in life's messes, God is still good. Learn more about me and my journey here!

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Our family's story: a time of waiting and prayer, the birth of our sunshine daughter, the second trimester loss of our daughter Naomi, the first trimester losses of our babies Kyria and Jordan, another time of waiting and prayer, the birth of our rainbow son, the first trimester losses of our babies Hope and Christmas, and finally, another time of waiting and praying.